Same producer, same farm, same variety, different processing methods. 
 
Taste how the processing affects the flavor notes with this tasting box from Khalid Shifa, our long-term producing partner from Jimma, Ethiopia.
 
Producer: Khalid Shifa
Farm: Echemo
Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom
Processing: natural and washed
(2x100g box)
 
What is "Natural Processing" in coffee:
Also known as the dry method. This is the traditional method where whole, picked coffee cherries are dried in the sun with the bean still intact inside the fruit. Producers spread whole, ripe coffee cherries on raised beds or patios to dry for two to six weeks.  As the outer cherry shrivels like a raisin, the bean inside absorbs natural sugars, fruit juices, and compounds from the sticky pulp.
 
In the cup, this method tends to enhance sweetness and bold, fruit-forward flavors like blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, or mango with a heavier, syrupy mouthfeel.

What is "Washed Processing" in coffee:
Also known as the wet method, this is a technique where the cherry fruit is completely removed from the bean before drying. This starts with depulping the cherries. After which, the sticky mucilage is broken down by letting the coffee beans sit in water tanks for 12 to 72 hours before the remaining mucilage is flushed off with clean water, leaving only the coffee beans in their parchment for the drying phase.
 
In the cup, this method often has a high, lively, and sparkling acidity, resembling citrus fruits, green apples, or fresh berries with a tea-like, clean, and elegant mouthfeel. The washed process also enhances delicate flavor compounds that create the floral and subtle herbal notes. 
 
The Producer:
Khalid Shifa is an exceptional coffee producer and processor from the Goma region in Jimma, Ethiopia. We have worked with him since one of our trips to Ethiopia back in 2020. We are always looking forward to getting his coffees, and the quality is always outstanding.
 
The Echemo farm was originally established by his grandfather by harvesting wild-growing heirloom coffee trees from the nearby Choche forest. Khalid is particularly mindful of preserving the natural state of this unique piece of land covering 35 hectares at an altitude of around 2100 masl.
 
Khalid is farming 100% organically, and the farm and green coffee are organic certified. This means he does not use any pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or mineral fertilisers. They remove weeds by hand and believe that by creating a healthy ecosystem, pests and diseases will be less of a problem.  
 
Khalid has become a central figure in the surrounding coffee community, where he offers training and shares his knowledge about farming methods, cultivation, harvest, and processing.